Personal Income and Spending Rise in November

Americans are making more and spending more.

Personal income increased 0.6% for November, outpacing consumer spending's 0.4% rise, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported [link opens in PDF] today. Income came in at double market analysts' expectations, while spending estimates hit the expected 0.4% mark.

Compared to October's 0.1% bump for income and 0.1% drop for spending, this news comes as a welcome respite to warning signs of a slowing economy.

Although almost all types of income saw improvements, private wage and salary disbursements showed the largest gains, jumping $41.1 billion in November, compared to October's $16.3 billion decrease. October's lackluster numbers were partially attributed to Hurricane Sandy, with economists crediting the storm with an $18.2 billion annual rate loss.

Adjusted for price changes, income rose 0.8% in November, while spending increased 0.6%.

Seasonally adjusted personal income for November was calculated at an annual rate of $13.53 trillion, almost 17% more than the $11.60 trillion spending rate. Compared to a year ago, income is up 4.1%, while spending has increased 3.5%.